Shazam #3

February 27, 2019 by Rick Lopez

As the Doomsday Clock draws ever so slowly towards midnight, Geoff Johns takes this time to deliver a heartwarming story about a boy and his family and all the fun that ensues. This time around accompanied by Dave Eaglesham, Marco Santucci and Mayo “Sen” Naito, the team works as one cohesive unit to deliver another heartfelt and beautiful chapter for the series. With the cinematic debut right around the corner, the series couldn’t have come at a better time to reintroduce the public to the Big Red Cheese.

As the “Marvel Family” continue their journey across the newly discovered Magiclands, Billy and his siblings begin within The Funlands. As a would be team member turns out to be crazy despot, the kids must jump into action as some of them are taken hostage by the ruler of the lands, King Kid. As the remainder of the family change into their magical counterparts, they are all sent across the various lands and spread out from one another by their new power young adversary.

Dave Eaglesham and Marco Santucci take over interiors for the main story while Mayo “Sen” Naito, last seen on issue #1, returns for another flashback story. The line between where Eaglesham ends and Santucci begins is difficult to point to for the lamen. Both artist’s pages seemingly blend into one work, only ever interrupted by the blatantly different pencils used to tell King Kid’s past. Mike Atiyeh brings the high gloss the series commands with his magnificent color works while Michael Cho delivers another spectacular variant cover for this series.

In a world littered with heroes in various crises, this light hearted tale is a beacon for readers looking to escape the grim and gritty storytelling. Geoff Johns continues to leave readers awe struck by the affinity he creates and embodies for the DC Universe. He writes for the love of the medium, its characters and it shows in an abundance with every new work he creates. Shazam proves to be yet another modern classic, bringing Billy back to form post New 52.

Continuing to stand alone in stride, this title is the poster child of how to do self contained comics within a larger universe but still make them important and entertaining. A sheer joyride to read throughout, this series continues to provide much needed escape from the darker themes current comics tend to dwell on.

Grade: A